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“Ben?” Rey blinked sleepily as she opened the door to her apartment and wondered why her handsome, monosyllabic neighbour of two years was staring intensely at her over the threshold.
“Rey, you did not leave for work this morning...I was…”
“Were you worried about me?” Rey purred, well tried to purr but it came out as more of a series of croaks. Stupid germs hindering her ability to flirt, not that it mattered too much. Rey knew Ben found her as annoying as nails scratching down a chalkboard.
Ben frowned which probably shouldn’t have been adorable but to Rey it was. “Are you unwell?”
Rey pouted and nodded. “I am Ben. I had to call in sick today. I appear to have the plague.”
Ben’s eyebrow twitched. “The plague was eradicated many years ago, Rey.”
“Well I suppose there is a chance it is just a bad cold. Nevertheless, I am sick and you better stay away from me Ben, I would never forgive myself if I gave it to you. Just draw a big red X on my door so everyone knows I am unclean and be gone! Save yourself!”
Ben gave Rey one of his trademark expressionless and yet somehow extremely expression filled looks and barged past.
“Hey!” Rey complained.
“Lie down,” Ben ordered as he moved around the flat picking up tissues and empty packets and depositing them into the waste paper basket he now carried in one hand.
Rey coughed. “Ben! Are you asking me to go to bed with you? So soon in our relationship! Usually I’m at least treated to dinner first!”
Ben didn’t respond. He put down the waste paper basket and came towards Rey. Standing behind her, he guided her by the shoulders to the sofa and gently laid her down.
“Stay,” he said seriously as he returned to his tidying.
Rey readily obeyed and watched Ben efficiently organise her apartment.
“It’s not usually like this,” she said weakly.
“Mmm….”
Rey thought that “Mmm” meant Ben wasn’t buying it. “Okay it is usually like this,” she muttered as she reached for another tissue. “Ben, is my nose all red?”
“Mmm,” Ben confirmed without looking up.
Rey pouted. “My face is ruined!”
“Your face is still beautiful.”
They both stilled. Rey’s eyes bore into Ben’s back. “What did you say?” she asked.
Ben began to move again. “Hot lemon,” he said as if that was a useful response to Rey’s question and moved through to the small kitchenette.
Rey pulled herself up and peeped over the top of the sofa.
“Lie down,” Ben commanded to the two little eyes that followed his every move. He moved around the kitchen with ease collecting what he needed. Rey realised he must have collected his bearings during the many house parties she had held and coerced him into attending. The quiet introvert would usually stay for thirty obligated minutes and the majority of that time would be spent in the kitchen. Ben finished making the hot lemon and delivered it to Rey.
“We could pop some whisky in this, I have a few miniatures somewhere,” Rey offered.
Ben shook his head. “Alcohol is a hindrance, not a help.”
Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She sipped the whisky-less hot lemon, it did help a bit. “Thank you for looking after me, but you can go, I’ll be fine.”
Ben looked conflicted. “I’m working from home this week. I will bring my laptop here and watch over you.”
Rey’s mouth fell open. Ben wanted to watch over her? It was possibly the most adorable thing anyone had ever said to her. But Ben hated her, didn’t he? What was going on? Rey lost the ability to speak. She nodded a few times and Ben’s lips quirked quickly in the essence of a smile then he disappeared. Rey must have dozed off for a little while because when she awoke again a blanket had been placed over her and Ben was sitting in the armchair opposite having created his own little mini office in the living room. Rey grinned widely as she watched Ben work. As soon as Ben saw she was awake he placed his laptop down and came to her side placing the back of his hand against her head.
Rey’s eyes looked up towards the cool hand on her forehead. “Am I hot?” she asked.
“Mmm,” Ben confirmed.
“Temperature wise or looks wise?”
There was that little lip quirk again. Rey decided she was going to make that quirk turn into a whole smile if it killed her.
“You need to take some medicine,” Ben said, removing his hand from Rey’s head and moving to the kitchen.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Rey said once again hanging over the back of the sofa to watch her house guest complete his task. Ben grabbed some pills and a glass of water and returned to Rey’s side.
“Take these,” he ordered.
Rey took the pills and the water and swallowed them down.
“Are you hungry?” Ben asked.
Rey nodded.
“I’m making chicken soup.”
Rey frowned. “How? The only thing in my fridge is out of date hot sauce.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah I know. That’s why I collected some groceries from home and brought them here.”
Rey was still reeling from the fact that Ben had apparently stocked her kitchen up while she slept so it took her brain a moment to catch up with what was happening. Ben was back in the kitchen stirring a large pot.
“Ben! Go on with your work! You don’t have to go to so much trouble for me!”
Ben ignored her as he continued tending to his soup.Rey had to admit that it smelled delicious. This was bad. Really bad. This was the longest amount of time she had spent alone with Ben. She had suspected for some time that she had a crush on the gorgeous, anti-social specimen located next door. She figured that had to be the reason why she was unable to leave him alone despite Ben’s many pleas for Rey to stop trying to involve him in every aspect of her life. Now having the adjacent Adonis here, in her personal space, looking after her with such care, she realised that the crush was more of a deep, all consuming…
“The soup is ready,” Ben said, pulling Rey from her thoughts.
Ben brought her a bowl and Rey gulped it down and asked for another.
“Ben! You’re amazing! This is the most wonderful soup I’ve ever eaten! You must set up a cafe in your apartment but allow only me to be your customer because I don’t want to share this mouthwatering delight with anyone else!”
The lip quirk was the only indication that Ben was enjoying the none-stop praise Rey was lavashing upon him.
“Will you teach me how to make this?” she asked.
Ben shook his head. “No need. I will make batches and share them with you. I can make you other meals too. You must eat well. I will make sure you eat well from now on.”
I love you.
The thought came to Rey’s thoughts so suddenly that her spoon slipped out of her fingers and clashed down into the empty bowl in her lap.
She was in love? In love with Ben? At first the thought was frightening...but Rey quickly realised it made perfect sense. Whenever she planned a party, who did she think of inviting first? Ben. Whenever she finished a good book or a film, who did she want to tell first? Ben. Ben the man who always made sure her bins went out on time, Ben the man who did her taxes for her, Ben the man who always emptied her mailbox for her and hand delivered it to her door. Ben the man who had come round to watch her while she was ill and handmade her delicious soup…
“Are you in pain?” Ben asked.
Rey looked up at her handsome nursemaid who was staring down at her with an endearing look of concern etched across his perfect features. She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Just tired.”
Ben looked unconvinced as he took Rey’s dishes away and cleaned up the kitchen to Gordon Ramsey standards. Rey’s head felt heavy so she lay down once more and placed an arm over her eyes. What was she going to do now? Flirt with him? She felt entirely unprepared to handle such a task and honestly she had tried every trick in the book to get Ben’s attention over the years and nothing had worked...except… this had worked hadn’t it? Being ill had worked. Maybe it would work again?
“Ben, can you bring me more soup tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.
“Yeah, if you’re still ill, I’ll work here again.”
Rey pressed her lips together with excitement. “Okay.”
Ben stayed until late in the night. When Rey fell asleep on his shoulder while he read one of her vapid romance novels to her, he carried her to bed and tucked her in, leaving a glass of water on her bedside table. He couldn’t resist pushing a few of the stray hairs away from his adorable patient's head.
“Sleep well,” he whispered as he left the room. He returned to his apartment after making sure to lock up behind himself. Suddenly his much loved apartment seemed very...empty. He sighed as he got ready for bed, smiling to himself as he brushed his teeth and remembered Rey’s devastated expression when she thought her cold had rendered her ugly. Ben doubted anything could render Rey ugly in his eyes. His heart had spilled open at the sight of Rey’s red rimmed eyes and pinkened nose. The urge to hug had been strong. Stronger than usual and his urge to hug Rey was always pretty fierce. He had settled for caring for her and the action had gone a long way to satisfy his poor love sick heart. He rinsed out his mouth and looked at himself in the mirror. He remembered every second of the first time he had met Rey as she had tried to open her apartment door with an arm full of un-bagged oranges and a box under one arm. Ben had idly thought that bad organisation had clearly led to this situation. For instance, Ben never visited the market without his reusable tote. One of the oranges escaped Rey’s grasp and Ben reached out and caught it with one hand. Their eyes had met and Rey had smiled down at him like the ball of sunshine Ben would soon find out she was and that had been it, the very moment his heart had permanently attached itself to his hopelessly lovable neighbour. He had never admitted his feelings to anyone but they were becoming increasingly...loud. He changed and settled down in bed. There would be at least one more day he would be able to watch over Rey. Maybe that would be enough to settle his heart? He let out a long, doubting sigh as he turned and closed his eyes.
*********
Rey awoke with a smile on her lips before her eyes even opened. She remembered parts of a perfect dream, Ben was there and there was a meadow full of beautiful flowers...and...wait...how did she get into bed? She couldn’t remember leaving the couch…she put a hand over her heart as she realised Ben must have carried her. Oh how sorry she was to have missed that! Had he also tucked her in and kissed her forehead? She hoped he hadn’t kissed her. She would be sad to have missed their first kiss. Rey jumped out of bed and made a joyful little noise before realising with a devastating blow that she was in fact...all better. She shook her head and sniffed. The congestion was gone. Completely gone! She ran to the bathroom. Her eyes were not even the tiniest bit red and her nose was back to its normal colour. Not a trace of pink. Shit! There was a knock at the door and Rey looked in the mirror with wide eyes.
“Ben,” she whispered to her reflection.
Oh God…
What the heck was she going to do?
**********
Rey came to the door wrapped in a blanket after rubbing her eyes a few times and pinching the end of her nose.
“Hello Ben,” she said in his best “sick” voice. She shuffled out of the way to allow Ben to enter with his laptop bag over his shoulder and the handles of a pot of freshly boiled chicken soup in both hands.
“Sit down,” he ordered and Rey obeyed.
Ben looked at her intensely. “This is worrying, I had hoped you would show some improvement this morning. I need to observe your symptoms for longer. That will mean staying with you for a 24 hour period.”
Rey’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean...stay…here...overnight?”
“Yes, is that okay?”
“Yes! I mean...it’s fine. Sure.”
While Rey was still trying to decide the logistics of Ben staying overnight when she only had one bed and one set of bedding, Ben hit her with another explosive revelation.
“I need to take your temperature,” he said as he placed down his things and pulled a thermometer out of his pocket.
Rey panicked. Take her temperature? She wasn’t hot at all. She wasn’t even lukewarm!
Oh God...Oh God...Oh God…
Ben must have picked up on the horrified look on her face because he quickly added. “It has been fully sterilised.”
As if Rey’s biggest concern at that moment was using a thermometer which had once been inside of Ben’s mouth! Considering her desired outcome was for them to be kissing like horny teenagers before the day was through, sharing the same medical equipment as the man she was in love with was the least of her worries!
Before she could say anything else Ben popped the thermometer into her mouth and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with a mug of hot lemon which he placed beside Rey. Rey looked at the hot lemon. There was her salvation. She made sure that Ben was suitably distracted setting up his laptop and popped the thermometer into the hot liquid. Just as she saw Ben turn to her once more, she put the thermometer back in her mouth.
Ben pulled it out and checked it with a frown.
“Something wrong?” Rey squeaked.
“According to this thermometer your temperature is impossibly high,” Ben said bluntly.
“Oh dear,” Rey said with a nervous laugh. “Could it be broken?”
Ben eyed the hot lemon by Rey’s side suspiciously. “Rey did you…”
Rey quickly crumbled. “Oh God! Stop grilling me! Okay! I confess! I put the thermometer in my beverage! I’m sorry! I’m guilty!”
“Why?” Ben asked.
Rey put her hands over her face and peeked out through the gaps in her fingers. “Because I’m not ill anymore.”
“You’re not ill?” Ben repeated.
Rey looked guilty and shook her head. “No, I’m sorry Ben, it’s just when you were here, looking after me, I loved it so much, I wanted you to keep doing it. So I pretended I was still sick and I’m so sorry. I was wrong. It just felt so nice having you here and I didn’t want it to end.”
Rey looked at Ben nervously waiting for a reaction. The tall man looked at her pensively for a few moments then turned and left.
Rey’s heart plummeted. She sat down on the sofa and sniffed. She had ruined it. She had ruined what was probably going to be the most meaningful relationship of her entire life before it had even begun. She put her head in her hands and sighed. A few minutes later she felt a weight press down on the sofa beside her and she looked up to see Ben sitting by her side.
“Why...why are you here?” she asked.
“I went to collect my stuff.”
Rey saw a neatly folded pair of joggers, a t-shirt and a small bag of toiletries in Ben’s lap.
Rey blinked up at him. “So...you’ll still stay?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I lied to you?”
“Yes.”
“But…”
Ben put a finger over Rey’s lips. “It’s fine. We’re fine.”
Rey decided if she was going to say anything, now was the time. She removed Ben’s finger from her mouth and held his hand within both of hers on her lap. “I don’t want us to be fine. I want us to be more than fine. I want us to be amazing, wonderful, fantastic. I want to make your heart explode in your chest. I don’t want you to only come over to look after me when I’m sick, I want you to be here all the time to look after me and I want to look after you too because I…”
“I want that too.”
“Just let me get this all out before you turn me down Ben...wait...what?”
And that was when it hit her. A real smile. Not a lip quirk, not an accidental facial twitch, a full, purposeful smile. Meant for her. Ben was smiling at her and Rey melted into a puddle on the floor before him.
“You’ve never properly smiled at me before,” she said, awed.
“I’m sorry. I can assure you, I smile all the time when I think of you, but I have always been taught to be guarded with my feelings…”
“You think of me?” Rey interrupted.
“Often.”
Now it was Rey’s turn to smile. “And you’re going to stay, even though I lied to you?”
“I believe you lied to me for a reason that gives my heart...hope.”
Rey smiled even wider then she pounced on Ben and hugged him. She hugged him tightly, pressing him down onto the sofa. “I give you full permission to feel hopeful, Ben, because I love you. I love you so much.”
There was a gasped breath underneath her and Rey pushed up on her hands to look down at Ben.
“The good news is now that I’m well I can do this without fear of making you ill.”
She leaned down and pressed her lips to Ben’s. A thrill ran through her as Ben returned her kiss and tentatively wrapped his hands around her back, grasping her t-shirt firmly. He groaned into her mouth. “We should have done this a long time ago,” he murmured.
“Mmm…” Rey agreed. “If I had known all I needed to do was become sick to get your attention I would have compromised my immune system a lot sooner.”
Ben frowned. “I should have confessed to you from the start, I don’t want you to feel that you have to put yourself in harmful situations to get my attention…”
Rey silenced him with a kiss. “I was joking Ben, although I do find it a bit kinky that you seem to find me most attractive at my most vulnerable…”
Ben looked sheepish and Rey grinned wickedly. “We have much to learn about each other,” she said happily as she kissed Ben again. “And we have our whole lives to achieve it.”
**********